Expensive repair on rental. Should I do it?

General Landlording & Rental Properties
5yFollow

Expensive repair on rental. Should I do it?

Supada L.
New to Real Estate 路 Member since 2020 路 147 posts 路 134 votes

Hello,

I have an out-of-state rental that I've relied on the property management to take care of it. I have owned the property for about a year and there has been minor fixes that already turned my first year cashflow negative.

Earlier this year the tenant has submitted a repair request for the drive way as shown in the pictures below. My PM got a quote for $5500 to repair it. Should I let them do it? Or is there a way to mitigate the cost? Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you in advance,
Supada

The tenant complain: "Driveway pavement is coming up & it is tearing up the front end of my cars!"

9Reply
339 views

Most Popular Reply

Steve Vaughan
Rental Property Investor 路 East Wenatchee, WA 路 Member since 2014 路 10k+ posts 路 16k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Supada L.:

I have an out-of-state rental that I've relied on the property management to take care of it. I have owned the property for about a year and there has been minor fixes that already turned my first year cashflow negative.

This is the lesson here.  OOS managed rentals can't cash-flow when the Maytag Man needs to be called for every little thing.  Period.

OOS 'passive' rental ownership should be more of a wealth preservation strategy rather than accumulation needing cash-flow strategy.  There will always be minor fixes. 

Yep, definitely replace that driveway with concrete.  Need to think long-term馃憤

16Reply
See this reply in the discussion

108 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Supada L.
    OP
    New to Real Estate 路 Member since 2020 路 147 posts 路 134 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Allen McGlashing:

    @Supada L. My response to fixing the driveway; that is something that absolutely needs to be done. I would look into asphalt that is usually a cheaper option and lasts. The bigger concern I had with your comment is the PM has turned your cash flow negative due to minor repairs. Are you getting notified when a repair is requested? I also would put in every lease agreement that there is a $100 deposit every time a specialty contractor is called. This makes your tenant think twice about calling and requesting very minor things.

    Yes. The PM always notify me when they get a repair request, which I never say no because they are thinks like leak and pipe issue.

    Thank you for your suggestion about the deposit. I'll talk to my PM if we can do that next time. 

    1Reply
  • Shane H.
    Member since 2018 路 433 posts 路 208 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Ramkumar S.:

    @Supada L. Won鈥檛 your insurance cover this expense ?

     What insurance are you referring to? 

    1Reply
  • Ramkumar S.
    Rental Property Investor 路 CA 路 Member since 2018 路 12 posts 路 3 votes
    5y

    Landlord insurance

    1Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2009 路 1k+ posts 路 1k+ votes
    5y

    Sure, it is nice to keep everything in perfect order, but you'll lose out as a landlord fixing this stuff.   A cheaper way would be to break out a few errant sections and do repair concrete work.  And that would not be $5000.  

    I tend to do the bigger investments only when I sell a property.  Without enough information, it seems to be a basic rental house with the one car garage port.  

    1Reply
  • Supada L.
    OP
    New to Real Estate 路 Member since 2020 路 147 posts 路 134 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Brian Ploszay:

    Sure, it is nice to keep everything in perfect order, but you'll lose out as a landlord fixing this stuff.   A cheaper way would be to break out a few errant sections and do repair concrete work.  And that would not be $5000.  

    I tend to do the bigger investments only when I sell a property.  Without enough information, it seems to be a basic rental house with the one car garage port.  

    It is a basic rental house and only one car. I'll see if I can find a contractor to repair only the errant sections. Thank you so much.

    1Reply
  • Shane H.
    Member since 2018 路 433 posts 路 208 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Ramkumar S.:

    Landlord insurance

     I've never heard of an insurance policy that will pay for maintenance on a property. If it's a thing it must be outrageously expensive.

    1Reply
  • Angel R.
    New to Real Estate 路 TX 路 Member since 2019 路 27 posts 路 5 votes
    5y

    Repair and sell property now that prices are up.

    1Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free